


Hoseok Commits High Treason

by whoami (davidbowie)



Series: Bangtan Meets the Gaang [3]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-07
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2019-03-01 19:46:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13301925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/davidbowie/pseuds/whoami
Summary: There's no such thing as neutral. If you stand by while evil is committed, you are also evil. So what do you call someone who stands by while justice happens?





	Hoseok Commits High Treason

**Author's Note:**

> so high key jimin's chapter takes place before this one...it's just not actually done. so instead skip straight into jhope, anxious boy-wonder

Hoseok strained to reach his toes, sweat cooling on his skin. 

"Hey, Hoseok! We got a new animal coming in, Boss says we need to clean out cage five." 

Hoseok looked up from where his fingers were still half a foot shy of his toes. "Cage five?" he repeated incredulously. "What kind of animal is big enough to need cage five?"

Yingjie shrugged. "Does it matter? Boss says he needs cage five clean by sundown, we clean cage five by sundown."

"It'll matter as soon as whatever it is starts shitting," Hoseok said, getting to his feet and brushing off his pants. "Anything big enough for cage five probably takes shits bigger than you."

Yingjie's nose wrinkled, but he laughed despite himself. "That's disgusting."

Hoseok grinned unrepentantly. "Good thing I've been put in the fire shows, huh Yingjie? Wouldn't it be a pity if I had to spend all day hauling massive cage five dumps to the back of the circus-"

Yingjie shoved him, laughing. "Stop it, you might drive me to quitting and then where would you be?"

"Up to my hips in animal shit, I guess."

Yingjie slung a companionable arm around Hoseok's shoulders, leading him towards the back of their caravan. "Do me a favor and stop talking about shit for five minutes, alright, Hoseokie?"

"You know all I do is talk shit, Ying-Ying." Hoseok ducked a lazy slap at the back of his head, laughing.

"Less talking shit, more moving boxes."

Hoseok gave a sloppy salute as they approached cage five. "Yessir. Where are we putting all this, anyway?"

Cage five had been empty during Hoseok's four years in the circus, and as far as he knew was an extra storage space for various props and costumes. The massive cage was filled almost to the brim with sparkling pants and improbable hats and painted wood and all kinds of odds and ends collected by a traveling circus.

Yingjie scratched the back of his neck. "I guess we can just take it out for now and figure it out later?"

Hoseok shrugged. "No way that can go wrong." 

Yingjie grinned at him, opening the cage door and then immediately jumping back as several boxes fell almost on top of him. He picked up a sparkling headpiece, complete with three horns. "What even is this?"

Hoseok felt a pang. "That's Ty Lee's headdress, isn't it?"

"Oh yeah, you're right. No wonder that stuff was on top."

Hoseok smiled, but he knew it was strained. "Let's just move the stuff, shall we?"

Between the two of them, they emptied cage five, spreading fresh hay on the floor of the cage, and had just refilled the water trough as the sun was falling behind the horizon.

Yingjie stretched his arms over his head, wincing as his back gave three loud cracks. "Wanna head over to the fire pit for dinner?"

"In a little bit. I'm gonna stretch for a while first."

Yingjie grinned at him. "Still trying for a spot as an acrobat?"

"Always, Yingjie." Hoseok smiled. "It's where I can really show myself, you know? I already help with the choreography."

"I know. You work really hard, Hoseok. You'll get there." Yingjie punched him in the arm, promising to save Hoseok a bowl before turning and jogging towards the group gathered around the fire pit. 

Hoseok sighed before sitting on the ground, legs straight out in front of him. His progress had slowed down during the last few months. He was sure his aura was tied in knots, stiffening his limbs and tightening his tendons, but ever since Ty Lee had gone with the Fire Princess-

Hoseok probably just needed to put more time into practicing, that was all.

\--

Hoseok stared blankly into cage five the next morning. "What did you say this animal was?"

Yingjie looked equally puzzled even as he continued hauling sacks of feed into the tent. "A wind buffalo? I think the Trainer said they picked it up from some sand benders."

Hoseok looked at the massive animal doubtfully. "Do they have wind buffalo in the Si Won Desert?"

Yingjie shrugged. "I guess they had at least one."

"And why is it knocked out?"

"Look, do I look like a guy who knows the backgrounds of mysterious wind buffalo?" Yingjie asked with exasperation, grunting with exertion as he picked up a bale of hay.

"Good point. What was I thinking, expecting you to know anything at all?" Hoseok sighed dramatically, hand on his brow. "What a shame. You have such a handsome face, but your head's as empty as an Air Temple."

He wasn't fast enough to dodge Yingjie's smack this time. "How about you help me move this stuff before the Trainer gets back and scolds us? That guy freaks me out, I'd rather not be in an enclosed space with him."

Hoseok shuddered, rubbing the back of his head where Yingjie's slap had landed. "I think he freaks everyone out. Where does the almost rotted meat go?"

"By the lion-bears, dumbass," said Yingjie, rolling his eyes. "Where else would it go?"

They continued bickering amicably, but Hoseok's mind was far away.

Ty Lee- The Fire Princess was chasing down the Avatar, everybody knew that. The wanted posters took care to include a sketch of a bald boy with an arrow tattooed on his forehead.

Hoseok looked at the unconscious wind buffalo in cage five. Yeah, arrows just like that.

Didn't the posters also say something about a sky bison that shed off-white fur?

"How is Ty Lee, by the way?"

Hoseok jumped guiltily. "What? Why would I know?"

Yingjie gave him an odd look as he set the last of the hay bales down next to the others. "You are the Hoseok who keeps up with the doings of the Fire Princess and her murder friends, right? And have been for months? Since the second Ty Lee left?"

Hoseok forced a laugh. "Oh, right. Not much news, actually. I think I heard that the Avatar is in Ba Sing Se, but nothing about the Fire Princess since that disaster of a drill operation. I mean," he waved his hand, "there's some buzz about a secret military operation to take Ba Sing Se, but when is there not, you know?"

Yingjie rolled his eyes. "Sure I know. Me, a dirt poor orphan from rice paddy country, I definitely know just as much about politics and secret military operations as you, the son of a noble lord."

"You know, if you keep rolling your eyes, they'll stick that way," Hoseok said, flicking Yingjie's forehead. "Besides, I'm not the son of a noble lord. I distinctly remember, he said 'You are no son of mine, Hoseok.' That's an explicit denial, Yingjie. He seemed pretty sure."

Yingjie snorted. "And I'm pretty sure you're a dumbass."

"You keep that up and I might start to doubt your passionate love and devotion for me." Hoseok smiled winningly, leading the way out of the animal tent.

"Maybe you should doubt them because they don't exist, instead."

Hoseok gasped dramatically, hand over his heart. "Such callous words! But my heart knows your own, and our love is too strong-"

Yingjie cut him off with a hand over his mouth, laughing. "Stop quoting 'Love Amongst the Dragons' at me. Dumbass."

Hoseok licked Yingjie's hand, crowing triumphantly as his mouth was freed. They made their way to the fire pit for dinner, and although Hoseok maintained his side of the conversation, his mind was racing.

\--

That night, Hoseok stared at the sky instead of sleeping. Was the Avatar really in Ba Sing Se without his flying bison? With no method of escape, and the Fire Princess making designs on the city?

Hoseok turned over in his sleeping roll. The Fire Nation had never succeeded in penetrating Ba Sing Se's defenses, of course. So the Avatar probably wouldn't even come into contact with a single firebender while in Ba Sing Se.

He rolled onto his stomach with a huff. On the other hand, the Fire Princess had never been in charge of an operation to take Ba Sing Se before. From everything Ty Lee had said- Well, from everything he had heard of her, she wouldn't fail. She would succeed, and she would take Ba Sing Se. Which had the Avatar.

And the Avatar didn't have his bison.

Hoseok rolled over onto his back-

"Go the fuck to sleep, asshole!"

Hoseok stared at the sky.

\--

Yingjie sent him a questioning look as he set down the costumes for the animals performing in that night's show. "I thought you joined the fire shows so you wouldn't have to spend all your time in the animal tent, but you're in here more than you were as a hand." 

Hoseok grinned nervously. "I- Well, it's a nice place to do my stretching without getting distracted, you know?"

Yingjie looked at where Hoseok had been pacing. The grass was worn away along his path. "Sure." He paused, then shook his head before continuing. "Anyway, Boss and the Trainer are headed this way, so if you don't want to have the fun experience of feeling violated and belittled at the same time, I'd take your stretching somewhere else."

"Sure, I'll be out in a minute." Hoseok smiled harder, feeling the strain in his cheeks.

Yingjie nodded slowly. "Okay. I'll be at the costume wagon."

Hoseok sagged with relief as Yingjie exited the tent, taking a moment to run his hand through his hair. He ducked out of the back of tent, thinking about Avatars and wind buffalo and Ty Lee. He stopped just on the other side of the flap, however, racing thoughts paralyzing him.

Did they even know that that was the Avatar's bison in there? Was it his duty to report it? But if he reported it now, after two weeks, would he be in trouble?

He was snapped out of his thoughts as Boss and the Trainer approached, arguing. Boss glanced his way as Hoseok bowed, before pausing. "You're in the fire show, aren't you? Why aren't you at the main tent with the other fire spinners, rehearsing for tonight's performance?"

"I was just headed there now, Boss, sorry about that." Hoseok bowed again and hurried off, hearing the argument pick back up.

Had he heard right? Was the Avatar's bison going to perform tonight? 

They had only the Avatar's bison for two weeks, and the 'wind buffalo' wasn't broken yet, still prone to ignoring the Trainer if not outright attacking him.

Hoseok felt like he might drop dead of stress at any moment.

\--

Of course, Hoseok thought. Of course he was the fire spinner chosen to help with the wind buffalo routine.

The fire spinners, when they weren't actively doing a routine, worked under the Trainer. All of the animals in the show were conditioned to fear fire, so if any of the animals went too far off-script, the fire spinners were on hand to help the Trainer keep them in check.

He felt a little disconnected from his body as the bison was revealed, obviously uncomfortable in its costume. He numbly watched as the bison went through the routine, flying through hoops and posing appealingly. He felt nothing as the costume caught on one of the flaming hoops, the flame quickly spreading to consume the cheap, flammable cloth.

'I can't feel my fingers,' Hoseok thought as the bison blew the Trainer through the top of the main tent. 'Is that normal?'

Hoseok blankly watched the sky bison take off into the night sky, still wearing its manacles. 'I guess I'm a traitor to my nation now,' thought Hoseok, before promptly collapsing onto the ground, gasping for air.

No more treason, Hoseok decided. His heart couldn't take it; it might actually stop for good the next time. He thought of Ty Lee, who had been his friend when he was at his worst and who was traveling with her childhood tormenter. Of Yingjie, who had rushed over to help him up, biting out panicked questions and feeling for Hoseok's pulse. Of the acrobats who leapt without fear through the sky, trusting that they were good enough to catch the trapeze. 

No, he couldn't have his heart stopping. He still had too much to do.


End file.
